Something a bit different for today's article... I know this is a Red Alert themed blog, however there are many chess players who play Red Alert and the games of Red Alert and chess have a lot in common. Both are very tactical and strategic games where you execute build orders and openings. There's also an elo system in chess which we use on the CnCNet Ladder. Even if you are not a chess player yourself, this should hopefully be a bit of an educational post for you and give you a little bit of background that might come in handy in a pub quiz one day! Additionally, I was inspired to write this article because of the Queen's Gambit TV Series which I highly recommend! This is just my opinion as a 2000+ level chess player and I don't own any of the pictures they are used for educational purposes only:
5) Anatoly Karpov (born Russia, 1951-)
This legend of the game was best known for his decade long rivalry with the great Garry Kasparov. These 2 Soviet titans of the game duelled over the World Title for the whole of the 1980s, playing dozens of games to determine who was the best. In the first match with Kasparov, neither player was able to win enough games to secure victory (the majority of games in top level chess are draws), and so after 48 games the match was declared a draw. Karpov was particularly known for being an expert positional and defensive player and was a huge fan of the Caro-Kann defence which he would use to secure draws with the black pieces. Karpov's sense of making every piece count in chess was almost unequalled. Ultimately Karpov would relinquish his title to his younger rival after 184 games. The final score was 19 wins for Karpov, 21 wins for Kasparov, and 144 games drawn.
There are very very few players in history who would have shown such honourable resistance to the mighty Kasparov over such a long match, and it would be an injustice not to include Karpov on this list of top 5 greats.
4) Jose Raul Capablanca (Cuba, 1888-1942)
There were many legends of the game who played in the pre-computer era of chess such as Morphy, Alekhine and Lasker. Capablanca was undeniably the best of them all. Modern chess computer engines document his genius by proving that he made the fewest mistakes of any world champion in history. This is remarkable given that he played 100 years ago where knowledge of the game was minimal in comparison to today. Capablanca's talent for the game was the stuff of legend and he even had an 8 year stretch as world champion where he did not lose a single game to any opponent. I have no doubt in my mind that Capablanca was one of the most talented players to ever play the game and would demolish most modern GrandMasters.
3) Garry Kasparov (born Azerbaijan, 1963-)
This is where the list became particularly hard. Kasparov is an absolute legend of the game and one of the most famous players to have ever pushed a pawn. His already documented match with Karpov will go down in the annals of chess history as the greatest match ever played. Kasparov was the first player to achieve an elo rating of more than 2800 and dominated the game as World Champion for 20 years. He would ultimately lose his title once reaching his 40s to his young Russian colleague Vladimir Kramnik, a player who I would rank in the top 10 greatest ever. His 2-decade long total dominance of the game saw him reign as World Champion and world number 1 for a remarkable length of time where he defeated many challengers. The only reason I have not placed him 2nd or 1st is because I feel like the top 2 were just a teeny tiny bit better.
2) Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 1990-)
The reigning and defending World Champion has absolutely dominated the scene for the last decade. I think it is fair to argue that he has surpassed his old mentor, Kasparov, at this juncture. No one has come close to taking his world title since he won it from India's Vishy Anand in 2013. He is unrivalled in all departments and his will to win is admirable. He is known for squeezing the life out of every single position. He has frequently amazed audiences by winning endgames which GrandMaster commentators and chess computers have decided should be a draw. Carlsen is like Karpov on steroids. An absolute chess savant who plays God-level chess. As close as you can get to modern chess perfection. Perhaps one day when his career is over he will be the undisputed number 1 player of all time, however I think the next player definitely deserves this status at present.
1) Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (USA, 1943-2008).
The most famous chess player of all time and for good reason. Fischer is the player whom Beth Harmon's character in the TV series "The Queen's Gambit" is based on. Fischer was a chess prodigy the like of which the world has never seen. He was already a GrandMaster and US Champion as a teenager. He is best known for winning the World Championship in 1972 against the Soviet legend Boris Spassky. Remarkable given that Fischer took on the might of the Soviet Union chess powerhouse by himself and won. A feat no other player in history would have been able to achieve. Perhaps more remarkably, Fischer demolished GrandMasters Taimanov & Larsen 6-0 and 6-0 en-route to facing Spassky. Given that draws in top level chess are extremely common and make up roughly 70% of games, to whitewash 2 of the world's top 5 players at the time 6-0 back to back just emphasizes Fischer's dominance over his opposition. It is fact that Fischer's dominance over his contemporaries is the widest gap between 1st and 2nd of any era of chess.
Sadly Fischer's career at the top was short lived and he forfeited his title after refusing to play. His life was plagued with many mental health and political issues which meant he did not have the longevity. However you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would argue against Fischer's 1972 peak being the greatest level of chess ever achieved. Fischer in today's era with all of the modern chess computers and technology would probably be unbeatable and I think the only person capable of beating Carlsen (a sentiment which Carlsen himself has suggested in some interviews). For this reason and because of the legend surrounding him, Fischer deserves his status as the Greatest Chess player in history. Chess would simply not be what it was today without Fischer's influence, as his success was crucial in popularising the game throughout the west and bringing it to a wider audience.
If you enjoyed reading this article, why not try reading some chess books to improve your play and learn about the game? I did this myself when I was younger and it was extremely fun and helped me achieve 2000+ elo. This is an excellent site which I have used myself and thoroughly recommend: Best Chess Books
. Thanks for reading! I might do some more "bonus" non-red alert articles in future if you enjoyed this.
